


Battleship

by AuthorInDistress



Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Alpha Bucky Barnes, Alpha/Omega, Developing Relationship, Fluff, M/M, Not Captain America: Civil War (Movie) Compliant, Omega Tony Stark, commission
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-17
Updated: 2018-07-17
Packaged: 2019-06-12 00:05:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,876
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15327366
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AuthorInDistress/pseuds/AuthorInDistress
Summary: In which Bucky pines and Tony loses board-games.





	Battleship

**Author's Note:**

> For the lovely Lindsey who commissioned me! Thank you for your commission and I hope you like it!

.

* * *

.

"Okay, alright. I know I'm a little tispy right now."

"You’re drunk."

"Tispy."

Bucky levelled him with a look, "You've just said 'tispy' twice now." He took a long sip of his own beer, "You're drunk."

"Fine." The man snorted, still not entirely believing that Bucky was right but moving on to spare an argument, "But still. Tony Stark, of  _all_ people?" He waved the bottle in his hand at the screen that they'd both been watching, where Tony Stark himself was speaking to a group of reporters about some event that Bucky hadn't cared to read about yet, "I mean. You know about the guy's history right."

"Sure." Bucky lied, eager to be rid of this guy so he could finally drink in peace.

"And youstillwant him?" The man leant back in his seat, puffing out his cheeks like Bucky was the dumbest person he'd met. He was just lucky that said dumb person had full control of the Soldier these days because his temper was rising a hell of a lot right now.

"No one likes sloppy seconds son. Trust me on that." The man pointed a thumb behind him at a young woman surrounded by alphas on a nearby table, "Sonia's here with a new group every day. And not one of them wants to fuck her. And she’s attractive as hell." He nodded at the screen then, "Potts had the same idea. Dumped Stark before she got in too deep."

Potts? He recognised the name; Virginia "Pepper" Potts, started as an assistant, became CEO, now runs Stark Industries alongside Tony Stark as he runs Avengers from the sidelines as well. He hadn't known they'd been an item, but he hid his surprise and just shrugged.

"What can I say?" He said, "I'm old fashioned and a sucker for a great ass and a pretty face."

The man laughed ridiculously loudly, downing the rest of his bottle and slamming a hand down on the bar, “What an omega’s for right?”

“Sure.” Bucky grinned, looking away with a subtle roll of his eyes.

"One more for me!" The man then suddenly yelled, "And another three for my friend here!"

Bucky waited until he'd paid for all the drinks that he'd ordered before walking out of the bar and jumping onto his motorcycle. It wasn't exactly huge amounts of money that he'd made the guy spend tonight but any little revenge would do for a wasted evening.

He drove back to his apartment and ordered in a takeaway, switching the news on and eating a burger as Tony Stark continued to answer questions and flashed a perfect smile at anyone who was the least bit polite to him. A few moments later, a guy in a blue-and-white suit stepped on besides him and Tony introduced him as 'Captain America'.

Bucky switched the television off immediately, his breath hard and ragged, and he realised that he’d suddenly lost his appetite. He threw the rest of his meal away and shut off the lights, falling into bed with a sigh and staring up at the ceiling. He was barely asleep when the man's face filled his mind again and he recollected the name that had left him.

Steve Rogers.

He slid his eyes shut and tried to force these old memories from his head but come five weeks later, there'd been no need to repress it.

 

.

 

After allowing himself to be cornered and surrounded in Amsterdam, Bucky had let Tony’s doctor’s look at him and had then gone for testing and so on until everyone and their mother was satisfied that he wasn’t with Hydra anymore.

At first, he hadn’t been so sure that he should be so trusting and cooperative just because his dick was telling him to, but whenever he started to get antsy, just seeing Tony Stark walk around the place had him melting into the cotton. An infatuation was the last thing he needed, especially as he was starting to remember more and more from his old life and should really have been focusing on that.

Three months in after all the tests and so on however, the infatuation had developed into a little more of a full-blown crush, and when he'd been cleared and started training with the others it got a whole lot worse.

 

"You're getting better." Natasha commented, panting from their sparring session.

"Better?" He asked, grabbing his bottle of water, "I have 70 plus years on you as an assassin."

"Exactly." Natasha grinned, "I'm younger, faster and stronger than you. But I was talking about your focus anyway."

"I focus." He argued lightly, straightening when the doors opened and Tony walked through.

"Gift time." He announced his presence with, holding four smoothies in a cup-holder with one hand and his tablet with the other, "Compliments of the chef."

"And who would that be?" Natasha asked, plucking a smoothie out of the holder and sipping on it. Bucky took one as well, despite knowing how disgusting they really were. The last time he'd refused however and had automatically made a face, Tony’d had a flash of brief hurt in his eyes, and he'd since taken anything that was offered to him now.

"My blender." Tony answered, glancing around, "Have either of you seen Steve? I thought he was here with you."

"He was with Barnes before I got here." Natasha said, stretching now with her smoothie beside her left foot. Tony looked at Bucky, his gaze full-on, and it was intense enough to make anyone freeze in place.

"I - uh." He cleared his throat, "He was. Before."

"Did he say where he was going?" Tony asked patiently, and for once he was asking a question that Bucky could actually answer. If he could get his mouth to open.

"He ... didn't. No." Tony sighed, putting his head on the rope that separated him from the boxing ring, "Have you tried his room?" Tony raised his head again to give him a look, "Right."

"He's probably hiding from your smoothies, Tony," Natasha said, hopping out of the ring and landing light on her feet, "Barnes can find him. Why don't you and I spar? We haven't in a while."

Tony raised an eyebrow, looking down at the skirt-suit he was wearing, "In this?"

"No. Go change." Natasha ordered him and he rolled his eyes but obediently put the smoothies and tablet down on the nearest rack and left the area to collect some general gym-wear. As soon as he was gone, Natasha walked around the rope to stare up at Bucky, "It is painful watching you." She said and he kept his face as blank as he could.

He knew exactly what she was talking about but she didn't need to know that.

"It doesn't matter if he says 'yes' or 'no', just ask so we can all stop tiptoeing."

"Tiptoeing?" Bucky asked and she took a long sip of her smoothie without even shuddering from the taste.

"You aren't the only one who's interested around here." She said and he felt himself stiffen instinctively, "None of us are don’t worry, but there are people in the building. And they're waiting for you to make your shot so they can try if you fail."

"Are they really."

She hummed, turning to leave, "When Tony comes back, tell him he took too long and I went to find Cap instead." He watched her leave, his blood boiling from anger that wasn't aimed at her. He'd had no idea he'd been so obvious that even those not on the team knew what he wanted. Unless that had just been a ploy from Natasha to make him open up and try anyway. He didn't care, either way. Whatever it had been, it worked.

The doors opened a third time and he tried to stand as naturally relaxed as he could. Tony skipped into the area in his gym-wear – shorts and a sleeveless tank top - and he was smiling.

"Where's Natasha?" He asked, his smile slipping into a frown as he hopped into the ring with Bucky to start stretching, "I was only gone 5 minutes."

"She said you took too long and went to find Cap herself." Bucky relayed and Tony scoffed.

"Took too long, yeah. Okay." He continued stretching anyway, "So are we sparring then?" Bucky froze, "Or did you need something else?" Tony looked around when he still didn't answer, "Or … were you planning on training alone? I can go if you were." He bent over to finish his last stretch and Bucky mentally yelled at himself to stop being silent.

“Uh yeah. Sure. Though I’ve sparred enough for a lifetime by now I think.” It was the wrong thing to say as Tony’s eyes flashed with disappointment but it was gone the next moment and he wished it hadn’t been so subtle so he could actually mention it and say that he’d _love_ to spar with him.

Instead, Tony just smiled again, “Alright. How about some strategy-work? It’s sitting down.”

Intrigued, and glad he hadn’t pushed Tony away, he nodded. “Alright.”

“Great. Come with me.” Tony led him out of the gym and to his room, opening the door wide for Bucky to step inside first and then pulling open a drawer and taking out an old and battered board-game box.

“Meet Battleship.” He set the box down and opened it up, organising the games pieces and so forth, “Okay, rules. First, you lay out your ships - ”

“You know this game was around when I was a kid right?” Bucky asked before he could go on, “We’d play with pencil and paper and not plastic ships but we played.”

Tony raised an eyebrow, “Okay, fine. I guess that makes you an ancient expert then."

"I guess it does."

"Well prepare to painfully lose to the modern expert.” It was said like a promise but never really happened in the end.

Around twenty minutes later, Bucky had his chin resting on his fist as he faux-contemplated his next move. Tony rolled his eyes, grumpy and slouching in his seat.

“Oh just say it already.” He finally snapped and Bucky shrugged.

“H-6.”

Making an even grumpier face, Tony lifted a pin and pushed it through his boat, “You’ve sunk my battleship.” He muttered, before sitting up quickly and taking the ships out, “Best out of three and then we’ll see who's a winner.”

“I never pegged you for a sore loser.” Bucky commented and Tony glared at him.

“Best out of three.” He warned. He lost all three and pouted through dinner. Bucky had a hard time not teasing him about it but when next he offered to play, Tony was up for it regardless of his hard losses and it became a habit of theirs.

Their ‘thing’.

Unfortunately it didn’t last long as Tony was inevitably pulled away due to his business and that left Bucky find another playing partner. Vision, he was still wary of, and as he was the only one who was actually interested Bucky decided to just wait for Tony to come back.

In the end, however, the next time he saw him they were on the field.

There had been a minor earthquake in down-town New York and the Avengers had gone to help at the scene. Tony had abandoned his suit early on to comfort a lost child until he’d eventually found her mother and had reunited them. He looked exhausted when he leant against a wall to catch his breath and Bucky kept his comms on as he watched him from the rooftop for any more signs of another tremor.

When Tony kept still for a lot longer than he’d thought he would, he turned his gaze to everyone else, following Steve’s eventual instruction that they were to start filing out now. He packed up and jumped off of the roof to the balcony that was beneath it, climbing down the railings to the ground.

He was around 10 feet away from where Tony had been when he heard someone else speak through the comm.

"So is there a line to courting you?"

Bucky froze, not recognising the voice but when he walked a little further, he could see Tony again and could see the police officer that was talking to him.

Tony had straightened, looking ready to leave, but now he just looked bewildered, “I'm sorry?" He asked.

Bucky shifted, unconsciously flexing as the officer leant against the wall besides Tony. "I mean. I figured – you’re intended or something. Doesn’t hurt to try though, right?”

"Intended." Tony repeated, his face gone from surprised to blank but he seemed more uncertain than against the idea, "I’m sorry, could you repeat what you started with, I think I missed it.”

“I said have you got anyone else courting you.” The officer paraphrased his previous, apparently missed, pick-up line, “Or can I?”

Tony looked at him, “And what would  _courting_  be exactly?”

Immediately, Bucky remembered a few alphas that he'd been friends with so long ago, before he'd seen them making fun of Steve and had cut ties. Some of their advice with Omegas had often seemed to work however so he'd retained the information but had since disregarded it when he’d seen the change throughout history. Each time he’d woken up, something new had changed and it wasn’t perfect now, but he understood it a lot better than he ever did at 19 years old.  
When the vote had come through, he’d felt a brief part of himself show around the Soldier as he’d been glad to see it.

The Soldier was never glad of anything.

Unfortunately, it didn’t look like the same could be said for people who hadn’t been frozen from the 1940s and had been born in this generation. The advice those old alphas had given him once upon a time had been that most Omegas loved it when you taught them something new, and he supposed in some ways that that could be true, but he didn’t hold out luck for this guy.

Especially when he saw him look down at the gun that Tony had in his belt.

"I could teach you to use one of those?" The officer offered, nodding down at it and Bucky frowned. The fact that Tony had it was a clear indication that he'd planned to leave his suit from the start and had kept the gun on him for protection in a just-in-case-scenario, “There’s a shooting range at my branch.”

It was a handgun, but he didn't recognise the make, and he was pretty sure that this guy had no idea as well.

Tony blinked slowly at him as he watched, "I have a busy schedule." He said, coolly, and Bucky almost smiled before his frown deepened when Tony then added, "But fine.” He glanced aside and then back again, “It'll have to be a quick lesson though."

The guy grinned, "Sure." He said eagerly.

"How about tomorrow?" Tony asked, "3pm?"

"Fine. That’s great.” They chat a little longer and eventually the guy told Tony the address of his office but by then Bucky had tuned it out and had gone on to meet with the rest of the team.

Considering how awful the guy’s flirting had been, he’d no idea why someone like  _Tony_ would ever have responded so politely, let alone agree to a date. It made no sense to him and it pissed him off, enough that he ended up shoving Barton to the side when he made a comment on how livid he looked as he stepped onto the jet.

 

The next day, Bucky waited around half an hour for Tony to turn up for breakfast and told himself that it was just because he’d come down early and refused to check the time.

He stepped out of the shadows that he’d automatically gone to stand in when eventually Tony did come down to eat something and he could go and greet him.

“Morning.” He said and Tony froze for a moment, his fork between his lips, only to register who it was and roll his eyes.

“I know they used to call you a ghost and all, but do you have to sneak around so much in the compound?” Despite his words, Tony’s tone was amused, “You live here. No need for all the ninja-ry.”

“I don’t think that’s a word,” Bucky let him know as he took a seat, "What's with your mug?" He then asked; it was black but was slowly changing colour. 

"Oh it shows the _Enterprise_ when it gets hot." Tony explained and Bucky grinned.

"Nerd." Crumbs over the table were flicked toward him in response to that, "You going anywhere?” Bucky asked when he'd brushed them all off and Tony paused then, glancing up at him from his plate, “You look nice.” He explained and Tony glanced back down, at his outfit this time.

He was wearing his usual business clothes, this time with trousers and a blazer, instead of his rare skirt and button-down.

“Oh,” He shrugged, “I’ve gotta be in the office today,” He said, “Fun.” Bucky smiled, his heart pounding when he got a smile back. Tony really did have an amazing smile, “Speaking of,” He shoved the rest of his omelette into his mouth and Bucky’s smile grew, “I should get going. I’m late as it is and I need to stop off somewhere afterward too.”

 _Stop off somewhere._  The shooting range.

Bucky nodded, watching him leave, and once he was gone he left to his own room to start a search for the address that he’d overheard the officer give yesterday.

By 3:40pm, he was inside the shooting range and no one in the building had any idea. Either their security was lax or he wasn’t as rusty as he thought, but something told him that it was the former and that everyone here was confident that no one could get past them.

Well. Here he was. They should really have a re-look at a few things.

He leant against the panels that he was sitting on, fifteen feet off the ground from the range and well out of shot should any of the guns miss. He had a perfect view of the slots, targets and front door. If this was an assassination, whoever walked through next wouldn’t even have a chance. As it was, he was currently watching an antsy alpha fiddle with his gun and wait for his date.

Tony was forty minutes late by now and anyone else would have gone already. This guy clearly didn’t understand the concept of being stood up, but at least Tony’s agreement from yesterday made a little more sense now, if he’d never actually intended to show.

As soon as he thought that however, the doors opened and Tony stepped in. Bucky leant forward and almost slipped off of the panels when he saw him.

“Holy cow.” He mouthed to himself.

Tony’s steps clicked as he walked in.

He was in a short, pink blouse and nothing else, and God, was he attractive in anything. He walked in with a bounce and his shirt flowed and lifted as he did, revealing more of his bare legs and the thigh holster that he had strapped in. A slight breeze could reveal everything and Bucky felt his throat squeeze as though the oxygen was strangling him.

“Sorry I’m late,” Tony said, seemingly oblivious to how the officer was also outwardly staring at him, “Had to find something to wear.”

He’d put this on, on  _purpose?_

The officer gaped, his expression quickly morphing to a slow smirk and he shook his head, “You can’t shoot in _that.”_  He sneered and Tony raised an eyebrow.

“Why not?”

“Because – ” The guy floundered, “It’ll get in the way.” Bucky snorted softly from above them as Tony just frowned.

“I’ve got an event to go to after this so there’s no time to change and re-change.” He said, “And I doubt it’ll get in the way. Now.” He cocked his head, the very picture of a ‘cute’ omega that he may as well as been wearing bunny ears too, “Teach me.”

Bucky chewed on the inside of his cheeks, watching the guy struggle for an answer, “At least take the heels off.”

Tony glanced down at his feet; he had silver heels on with tiny, glittery bows over the straps, “No.” He said, lifting his blouse slightly to pull free his gun and the guy glanced away with a soft groan of barely concealed discomfort.

“I’ve got to go soon,” Tony continued, “So if you wanna teach me, you’ve gotta teach me now.”

Clearly not wanting to lose this opportunity, the officer snapped out of it, “Alright.” He stepped around Tony, his confidence back, “First things first, let’s get your stance down.”

He lifted Tony’s arms and nudged his foot back a step until he could hold himself steady, even when lightly pushed. Using his own gun, he demonstrated on how to hold it, take the safety off, aim and fire. He helped him with the recoil and smiled when Tony laughed at a blunder, missing the target badly.

Bucky rolled his eyes. He was a terrible teacher, and a terrible shooter at that too.

“It’s okay,” The guy said, “You’ll get the hang of it.”

After another few failed tries, Tony put the gun down, “Why don’t you show me how _you_  hit a target?” He asked and the guy grinned.

“Sure.” He turned to the target and fired three shots through the slot; one in the head, chest and leg, “Weak spots.” He explained to Tony, gesturing that he take the gun back, “Your turn.”

Tony took the gun slowly, looking nervous, and he turned toward the target and stepped into a completely different stance than what he’d been shown. The guy opened his mouth to correct him only to stop when Tony’s nervousness melted into something else and he fired three shots as well.

They all hit perfectly, one on top of the other; right on the target’s groin. Bucky blinked, staring and Tony hummed.

He then turned toward the other four targets in their different slots, further away from him, and fired at them as well. He shot each of them in the chest or head or groin and then spun the gun in hand until it’s handle was facing away from him.

“So.” He said calmly, “How did I do.” Bucky grinned as the guy gaped, “You wanna teach me how to drive too?”

With that, he turned and walked out of the room, his heels clacking and his blouse flying; a perfect mixture of sweet and deadly. Deciding to leave the officer to his thoughts, Bucky climbed out of the panels and through the window without making a sound.

He was halfway to the car that he’d driven to get here when he realised how his skin was burning and throbbing over muscle. If he didn’t know any better, and he did, he’d think he was in rut. As it was, he knew he wasn’t due for a long while yet and he wasn’t anywhere near an omega in heat. This left the only other conclusion that the display Tony had just given had left him incredibly aroused. This was more than a crush at this point.

 

He saw Tony a week later, knowing now that when he’d said that he had to be at an event later, that that event would span over an entire weekend and then lead to him staying in Islamabad for a few days afterward before then travelling back manually, without his suit, to avoid air traffic issues.

He was with Steve in the gym when he heard that Tony would be coming back today and he feigned as much indifference as he could. As soon as he was thrown to the ground however, internally blaming his lack of focus, he knew he hadn’t had much luck.

“Did Natasha tell you?” He asked when he was helped up, stretching his arms out to go again but one look at Steve’s body language told him that they were done sparring for now.

“Tell me what?” Steve threw the question back only to deflate when Bucky rose an eyebrow and folded his arms across his chest. “She confirmed when I asked. I guessed before.”

“Uh huh.” Turning away, Bucky reached for his towel and started to dab at his neck, swiping away the sweat and dirt from the few rounds he’d just had, “So are you going to talk to me now about how much of a problem it’s going to be?”

“Why would it be a problem?” Steve asked, sounding genuinely curious, and Bucky shrugged.

“We’re teammates. It complicates things.” He answered, “Not to mention a bond could seriously be damaging to trust if it needed to be broken. It’s one of the Hydra protocols that I actually agree with because it makes the most sense.”

“I don’t – ?” Steve stared at him, “Are you  _bonded?”_

Bucky paused, “No? I’m just saying it could complicate things if I happen to - ”

“Bucky what are you talking about?” Steve stepped toward him, frowning, “Natasha told me about you lashing out against Clint the other week when I asked her if you’d been upset lately. I was worried, I thought you were – but if all your brooding is because you’re in a relationship?” His confusion melted into a smile, “Then that’s great!”

It was Bucky’s turn to get confused however, “What lashing out?”

“You pushed Clint off the jet apparently. When we were getting back from the earthquake clean-up?”

Oh that. “Nah, I just shoved him because he was annoying me, that wasn’t the Soldier. I’m not upset or anything. I’m fine.” He rolled his eyes, “I’m not in a relationship either. I’m just – a little interested in getting in one, but I’ve seen how he’s reacted to being asked out and I’m not sure I want to brave it.”

Steve leant against the ropes of the ring, “Do I know this omega?”

Bucky grimaced. He did but if he didn’t know it yet then Bucky wasn’t about to give it away, “I don’t know.”

“You said  _teammate_  so I kinda think I do.” Dammit. He forgot about that.

“It was hypothetical.”

“As hypothetical as you looking like you’re in a rut whenever Tony’s in the room?”

Bucky glared at him, “If you knew what I was talking about, why play dumb this whole time?”

“I wanted you to tell me from your own mouth,” Steve admitted, “And I thought you were dating for a second just now and that I didn’t know so I was teasing a little bit in revenge but you’re not, so it’s fine.” He put a hand on his hip, “Still, Tony? You don’t aim low do you, Buck.”

“Never have.”

“No, you never have,” Steve agreed, grinning, “You used to date all the popular omegas at school. You even dated Angelina  _Delware_ for a bit.” Bucky snorted, “What?”

“I never dated Angelina Delware Steve, that was a lie to make me look good in front of Oscar and I just kept it up when you actually believed me.”

“What? Really?” He nodded and Steve punched him in the arm, “Idiot.” He said, before laughing a little, “Well if anything, it’s a compliment I believed it then, right?”

“I doubt Angelina would have had anything to do with me. I wasn’t rich enough.”

“True,” Steve pressed his lips together, “But Tony’s not like that. He doesn’t care about your money or if you’re a CEO or prince or any of that.”

“Just Looks right?”

Steve made a face, “I’d like to say ‘no’ … but I’m not so sure. But even if it is, you’ll do fine.”

“Maybe once upon a time.” Bucky muttered, “But I’m broken goods now. Don’t have much to offer.”

“Okay if anything, that there makes it more likely why Tony would reject you,” Steve said, putting a hand up, “Act like an alpha and he’ll push you away. Trust me, I learnt that the hard way.” Bucky stiffened. He couldn’t help it. “Not romantically, relax. I tried to bench him a few times when I was fresh out the ice, after Loki. He wasn’t happy when I told him it was because he was in heat or that he should be more careful as an omega and it took me a while, but I eventually understood why.”

“Yeah I think I get that.” Steve gave him a look that told him he didn’t and he bristled, “I do. I unfroze a lot earlier than you did and a few times more. I saw the changes history went through, even if I was mostly killing people as it did.” Steve looked away at that before visibly forcing himself to look back, “Pretending I wasn’t a murderer isn’t going to hide that I was one.”

“I know that.” Steve argued, “And I suppose watching history change could count as an educational lesson but I still wouldn’t say you understood. Hell I still don’t, most of the time. Tony’s constantly telling me off.”

Bucky smiled, “Yeah he likes to do that. You should have seen what he did to this asshole cop that asked him out.” At Steve’s frown, he told him the story of what had happened and once he was done, instead of an approving smile, the frown was still there, “What?”

“You can’t stalk him Bucky.” Steve told him and he glared.

“I don’t stalk him.”

“You listened in at comms? You hid in the rafters to watch his date? I’d count that as stalking a little.” If the Soldier was still active within him, the tone Steve currently had would have burned into him until he’d turned animal and attacked him. As it was, right now, he just felt ashamed.

“Okay fine.” He snapped, “I won’t try to justify it to say I was worried about him because I wasn’t. I was - I don’t know. Being nosy.”

“I think you were being jealous Buck.” Steve corrected him.

“Whatever.”

 

Tony arrived back in the compound at around 3-ish and he went straight to his room to ‘shower, change and masturbate. In that order’. When Rhodey had cleared his throat from the sofa, he’d rolled his eyes.

“Oh please, I live with around five alphas Rhodey,” He said, “If I have to deal with their scents 24/7, they can deal with me giving them a little too much information now-and-again.”

“There’s too much and then there’s ‘too-much’ Stark,” Wanda said from the sofa and Tony gave her a short glance before looking away and walking out. Bucky tried not to feel disappointed that he hadn’t been personally greeted but then he realised then that he was moping about something he could control and that he could do something about.

He stood and went to follow Tony to his room, maybe to ask to play Battleship after so long but he barely made it halfway when there was an alert and he spun on his heel to avoid letting Tony see his aborted attempt at going after him. 

The alert turned out to be nothing more than a failure of an attack from A.I.M and it barely seemed worth their time until some of the workers attacked civilians in their attempt to escape and that led to a little more urgency from the team.

Bucky was too busy being annoyed however, that he let himself get knocked down by one of the freaks in yellow suits and hit across the face.

He pulled his arm back to hit the guy back when he was suddenly gone and Tony was in his place. The suit whirred as he straightened, drawing his arm up for another blast before taking off and spinning through the air toward the main van that these idiots had.

"How many Minions are there?" Barton asked over the comms and Natasha scoffed softly.

"Minions? Who's their master?"

"Oh. No, Nat.” Barton sounded disappointed, “I meant Minions-Minions, you know? From the movie?" He raced past him as he spoke, and Bucky realised that he'd been standing frozen in the same spot that Tony had been in just a few moment ago, "From _‘Despicable Me’?"_

"No idea what you're talking about."

"Be glad." Tony said, "They're a curse."

"Guys. Comm-chatter down please." Steve spoke up now, "Ironman, have you taken the van down?"

"Took the wheels out but it's empty. I'm taking apart their - hey!" There was the sound of a thud and Bucky was running before he could even think. He launched himself over an overturned dustbin and flew around the corner to see Tony out of his suit, electric panel in hand, and his foot lifted up just as the man that he'd obviously just kicked fell. He then jumped, spun, and kicked the other that was there, landing on his toes with a frown.

"Stay down," He ordered them angrily, dropping the panel and turning back to the van. The A.I.M workers groaned on the floor, rolling in pain; they weren’t getting up. Bucky jogged the rest of the way, walking over them and joining Tony inside the back of the van and crouching, "Hey." Tony greeted, "Could you hold this?"

Bucky obediently took whatever was put in his hand, not even bothering to glance down at it. His eyes were only for Tony, "You're amazing." He said slowly, and Tony froze, turning to look at him.

Their faces were close and Tony stared into his eyes, "Uh. Thank you." He said, smiling, "You too?" Bucky snorted softly, watching as Tony turned back to picking apart the screen that the van had built inside it's wall.

"I saw you show that cop how to shoot." He continued and Tony's hands yanked out a few wires as though he hadn't registered what he'd said, "Who taught you to shoot like that?"

"I did." His voice was curt now but Bucky was too invested in saying his piece to stop.

"You taught yourself?" He sat back on his heels, "How'd you manage that?"

"Practice." Tony said, "And capability."

"I don't know about that," Bucky said, "I like to think of myself as a pretty good sniper, but I had to have at least three teachers before I could finally get the hang of it. I've never met anyone as good as you that's self-taught."

Tony paused again, but this time his face softened instead of growing cold and he smiled a little, "What happened to the other two?"

Bucky blinked, "Hm?"

"Your other two teachers. You had three. Why'd they change, you scare them off?"

"Oh," He laughed, "No. I wasn't nearly as scary back then as I am now." Tony hummed, nodding in false agreement, "And no. It was during the war. People were reassigned or, you know, died."

"Shit. I’m sorry." Tony winced, "I didn't think - "

"It's okay, I never knew 'em well." Bucky stopped him, "And it happens. In war."

Tony pressed his lips together, "It shouldn't happen." He said, "War, I mean. I'm sick of it."

"Word is you used to profit off of it."

Tony turned to him, "Word is you used to murder people."

Bucky grinned. So used to people walking on eggshells around him, he loved talking to Tony for this very reason as well as everything else. He was honest to a point where he could hurt you, but he stopped at the edge and cared that he had. And he wasn't afraid of bringing up any elephants in the room if it saved a lot of hassle or awkwardness. He was brave, in and out of the suit, and Bucky wanted him  _bad._

"That should stop their system for now." Tony continued with what he was doing then, "I'll decrypt the rest back home." He swung out an arm, calling his suit to reassemble around him, "You want a lift?" He asked in his now automated voice.

"No thanks." Bucky said, "I like my feet on the ground."

"You're missing out." Tony's smile was evident even with the robotic tone and Bucky watched as he took off toward the compound. He rode his bike back, still smiling to himself as he did.

 

Despite what had felt like progress, his relationship with Tony didn’t seem to move at any new pace other than the restarting of their battleship-games, so he found himself falling into bad moods more often than not. Steve was no longer concerned now that he knew what the issue was but that was the extent to which he mentioned it, which Bucky was seriously grateful for.

He didn’t think he’d do well if his best friend started to tease him about how bad he’d fallen for Tony Stark. Unfortunately for him, Wilson found out about it a few weeks later. How, he had no idea, but he supposed he wasn’t being as subtle as he’d like as all it took was another alpha expressing an interest in Tony for him to show his true colours.

“So you got this right?” Wilson fell into the seat beside him as they gathered to watch the news. Tony had mentioned that the Avengers were getting better press these days but wanted them to watch the current story to see how they could improve their PR with some stations that still created a bias against them.

“Got what?” Bucky asked, barely interested.

“This,” Wilson repeated, gesturing around him, “The news. They’re gonna have you on there tonight. You’ll be out for the world to see.”

“I’ve been on the news before.” Bucky let him know.

“Yeah as the Soldier.” Wilson countered, “This time you’re an Avenger. You’re Bucky Barnes. It’ll be different, trust me.”

“How so?”

“They’ll pick you apart, like they do with every new person in the spotlight.” He explained, “But you got it right?”

“Are you asking if I’ll keep my temper?” Bucky asked, bristling.

“No.” Wilson gave him a look, “I’m trying to look out for you here. The press see everything and even if they don’t, they fill in the gaps with whatever they want and people believe it.” He made a bitter face, “Speaking from experience.” He then said, putting a hand on his chest. “I’m just saying, be prepared.”

He fell silent when the others filed in and Tony switched the television on, standing with his arms folded and the remote in the crook of his elbow, frowning. An anchor appeared on screen and the story’s title flared up beside her.

 

_**SHOULD AVENGERS BE TRUSTED TO HELP US?** _

 

At that, Tony’s frown deepened and he sighed through his nose.

“Good evening,” The anchor began, brushing her hair back from her shoulders and delving right into the story. She spoke about A.I.M and how the Avengers had not fought hard enough to stop the civilians from being injured in the fight from a few weeks ago. There was an interview with a bystander who said he trusted the Avengers and had seen them do their best.

“I blame the guys in yellow suits for this, not the heroes,” He said, “If they hadn’t been here, it would have been much worse. I think people are just never happy and want perfection all the time.”

“Hear hear.” Natasha murmured from her seat.

They were cut back to the anchor then and she feigned sorting through papers on her desk before she spoke, “Regardless of public support, there are members of the Avengers that have not been vetted by outside sources and is it really fair that we are forced to trust these enhanced individuals with our safety? Wanda Maximoff was a criminal turned ‘hero’ but her powers are significantly uncontrollable and can turn deadly, as seen here.”

Video footage was shown of Wanda during their fight against Ultron. She tore apart one of his many robots and walked over the remains toward others in a blaze of fire.

“That’s not fair,” Barton spoke up, “That was _supposed_ to be deadly.”

“Press doesn’t care about details.” Tony said, “They care about drama.”

The anchor spoke over them, leaving Wanda behind and turning to Bucky now. Wilson nudged him pointedly but he ignored it, watching the screen with as impassive a face as he could muster.

“- otherwise known as the _Winter Soldier_ is the newest member of the team and has been working with them for months now but who gets to decide that he can join such a public group of heroes? Known for almost 500 murders throughout history, the Winter Soldier was a weapon for the infamous Nazi Group ‘Hydra’ but has since reformed and become an Avenger. But where does that put the families of the victims?”

Tony went to turn the TV off, but Bucky shifted, “No.” He said, “Leave it.” Pausing, Tony slowly put the remote down and chewed on his lip. 

“ – who can certify the control the Soldier was under.”

Helen Cho then appeared via a video-link, in casual clothes for once, and several of them visibly relaxed at the sight of her, “Good evening Nicole,” Helen greeted the anchor and she was greeted back just as generically.

“Dr Cho, you’ve said that you can medically verify that the Winter Soldier and James “Bucky” Barnes are two different people. How is that possible?”

“Sadly, it is very possible,” Helen said, “I’ve researched Hydra’s weaponry and technology for years of my life and from my findings and from other scientists that I work with’s opinions, it’s clear that there was some brainwashing evident in Barnes’ mind. He was made into a sleeper agent via Hydra.”

“But how does that make him a different person?”

“The agent Hydra made was not Barnes. To be simple, Barnes was mostly reanimated by those in charge of him and was not in control of his actions. Since his freedom, he has shown significant differences in brain activity from the records that I have of him previously. The Soldier and Barnes express different emotions and stimulated outgoings.”

“So the Soldier committed these crimes,” The anchor said, “But how can we be sure he’s gone completely?”

Tony gripped the remote again but didn’t lift it, despite Steve and Natasha’s burning glare at the screen.

Helen shifted in her seat on screen, “Barnes has since been vetted by the Army via Colonel James Rhodes,” She explained, “And has been found to not have been held accountable for murders Hydra technically committed.”

“But how can we be sure the Soldier won’t suddenly return?” Nicole repeated, “Isn’t that a risk the Avengers are taking?”

“It’s as big a risk as coming home and realising your alpha has been a serial killer all his life,” Helen argued, “You can never be sure about anyone’s true nature, Nicole, but – “

“But isn’t that what you said? That you’re sure his nature isn’t, well, murderous?”

Helen frowned slightly, “No, what I said was that we were sure he’d been under Hydra’s control _previously_. We can never be sure of anyone’s true nature, so – ”

“So Bucky Barnes could still turn rogue?”

“I – no. He’s proven himself in the field - ”

“And you can guarantee that the Soldier won’t make a reappearance while out on a mission?”

“I don’t think I’m in a position to answer that question.”

“I’d say you are,” The anchor argued.

“No, I really don’t think I am,” Helen argued back, “Like I said before, it’s impossible to know someone’s true nature, Barnes included, and I will not make a guarantee that I cannot keep. All I _can_ guarantee is that the murders were caused by Hydra and that Barnes served in the war and did his country proud. He should be treated with respect - ”

“Well we’re not arguing about his war-efforts, we’re talking about what happened afterward.”

“Yes but – ”

“Sorry. Sorry to interrupt Dr Cho, we’ve run out of time for your segment. Thank you so much for being with us today.” Turning away from Helen before she could answer, the camera refocused only on the anchor again and she cleared her throat, “Thank you for all the messages that are coming in regarding this story, I will be reading these shortly. It’s always good to hear people’s opinions.”

She smiled, and Barton booed, “Yeah opinions,” He scoffed, “Right after you’ve told them what to think.”

“In another part of this story however,” The anchor continued, “There are some that say the Soldier is not the problem here but more Barnes himself. Whilst he has been found non-accountable for Hydra’s crimes, there have been several allegations of sexual harassment that have been down to Barnes and not his sleeper-agent-self … “ She paused, pressing her lips together, “One such report came in the form of a video-clip from over _six_ months ago. It shows Barnes speaking to a member of the public about a member of his team, billionaire-Omega Tony Stark - ”

Shit. Oh Shit. He didn’t think they’d pick _this_ apart.

“Turn it off.” Barnes croaked quickly but the video started to play, and Tony was no longer frowning and instead looked confused, the remote limp in his hand.

He saw himself on screen, in that bar with that asshole alpha, and he felt the blood drain from his face when he eventually reheard the words:

 

_“No one wants sloppy seconds son.”_

_“Well what can I say? I’m old fashioned and a sucker for a great ass and a pretty face.”_

_“What an omega’s for, right?”_

_Bucky smiled, “Sure.”_

 

The television switched off, the silence in the room deafening afterward. Bucky stared at the blank screen, Wilson stiff beside him, only for them both to jump at the sound of laughter.

“Oh my God, relax,” Tony laughed, “I’ve heard much, much worse, and I can tell when someone really means it.” He shook his head.

“Tony, I swear – ” Bucky started, rising out of his seat, “I – that guy was just an asshole, I didn’t want to cause a fight or – ”

“I get it.” Tony said, “You were in hiding.”

“Yeah he would have put him in his place otherwise.” Barton muttered and Bucky turned to him.

“If I hadn’t been on the run? Yeah. I would’ve.”

“What a dick.” Wanda commented, still looking at the screen. “What omegas are _for?”_

“Yeah fuck him.” Tony agreed with her for once, putting the remote down, “What I’m curious about are the sexual harassment allegations. That video wasn’t one for sure because you were talking and while it was vile it’s not harassment.”

“They’re picking holes where they can.” Steve brushed it off.

“I did catch an omega during A.I.Ms fight.” Bucky suggested, “I had to grab her by the waist.”

“I’ll look into it.” Tony promised, turning to leave. Bucky walked after him however.

“Hey wait.” He put an arm out to stop him, “Listen. That video – ”

“It’s fine,” Tony repeated, “I’ve heard worse. Trust me. And you didn’t say it, you just – passively agreed.”

“I made him pay for all my drinks.” Tony gave him a tight smile, “Look. I just want you to know, okay. I didn’t mean anything in that video. None of it. He was drunk and I was hiding, and if he’d made a fuss who knows who might have been called.”

Tony nodded, “So you meant none of it?”

“None of it.” Bucky promised.

“Not even the part about my great ass or pretty face?” Bucky stopped, feeling his throat tighten, and Tony smiled, “If you’re going to argue that you don’t find me attractive then I’m gonna have to beg to differ.”

“I – what?”

“I know you like me, James. Half my staff knows you like me.”

Bucky froze, “I – ”

“And I’ve been waiting for you to ask me out for months now.” Tony continued, tilting his head to one side, “I thought one of these days you’d stop staring and just _ask.”_ He shrugged, “I don’t bite.”

“You’ve been waiting?” Bucky asked, with numb lips. “I thought – you didn’t – what about that _Cop?”_

“That Cop was a dickhead who clearly had some sort of alphalinity-complex going on and you don’t.” Tony explained softly, “In fact, most of the time, you’re the opposite.”

“Why didn’t you just say you wanted me to ask you?” He felt like denying this some more, but the words were coming out without his control and he was almost dizzy with this realisation.

“I didn’t want to step on your old-fashioned alpha-ness?” Tony laughed, shrugging, “I don’t know. I don’t like being rejected, I guess. Who does?” He glanced down.

“So why now?”

“I got tired of waiting?” Bucky gave him a look and though he wasn’t even looking up to see it, he sighed anyway and gave him the honest answer, “A few weeks ago, you said I was amazing. And you really meant it.”

“Can I ask you something?” Bucky blurted out loudly, regretting it immediately, and Tony blinked, startled.

“Uh. … sure?”

“That blouse and heels you wore to your date with that Cop.” He said, “Did you do that to turn him on or make him blush?”

Tony snorted, “Neither. I wanted to _remind_ him I was an omega when I shot those targets in the crotch.” He then stopped, frowning, “Wait. How do you know what I wore?”

“I – ” Shit. Bucky bit on the side of his tongue in his haste to shut up but he knew, deep down, that he’d have to admit to his ‘stalking’ sooner rather than later, “I, uh. I followed you. To your date. I wanted to make sure you were okay and I – uh. Guess I was jealous too.”

Tony hummed, not looking the least bit worried, before finally putting Bucky out of his misery, “Yeah I know,” He said, “Steve told me. I just wanted you to admit to it first.”

Bucky felt himself smile in disbelief, shaking his head, “Steve told you? That prick.”

“Well you shouldn’t have done it in the first place.” Tony told him, “I can take care of myself and hiding in the rafters to watch someone’s date is creepy. What if we’d had sex?”

“I was pretty confident you wouldn’t have,” Bucky argued, “And I would have left if you had.”

“Uh huh,” Tony rolled his eyes, “Anyway, I better go look up these allegations against you before they bite us in the butt – ”

“No need,” Wilson called over from the living space, “We turned the news back on and their ‘few allegations’ are just the one. That video. Don’t you just love the news?” He continued, before adding, “Oh and, if you guys wanted to talk privately, you should probably walk a little further away.”

Tony had turned at the sound of Wilson’s voice but as soon as he turned back, Bucky cupped his face in his hands and kissed him. Tony made a sound of surprise, immediately kissing him back only to then suddenly pull away.

“Hey, hey,” He put a hand on Bucky’s chest, muting his voice into an imitation of someone prim and snobbish, “I want to be asked _out_ first. I’m an Omega, I should be treated with respect.”

Bucky grinned down at him, forcing it away until he looked rightfully serious.

“Tony Stark.” He started and Tony visibly forced his own grin down, “Amazing genius, shooter and fighter.” This time, Tony didn’t bother to hide the soft half-smile that was forming on his face, “Nerd.” His smile grew, “And sore loser. Will you have dinner with me tonight?”

Tony slowly lifted his arms up and slid them around his neck, leaning in to kiss him again, “Yeah alright.” He looked thoughtful, “What are we eating?”

“It’s your compound, what have you cooked for us?” Tony hit him and he laughed, “I can cook, I’m kidding. I’ll make you something. And we can play battleship.”

Tony met his gaze, “Sounds good.” He kissed him a third time, “Best of three decides dessert.”

“I’ll take those odds.”

He won each game but purposefully chose something that Tony would love anyway, when he looked moody at his losses.

“Such a sore loser, seriously,” Bucky muttered when Tony tucked into the cake and cream like he hadn’t just been pouting.

“You love me.” Tony said around his spoon and Bucky just grinned at him.

“Yeah.” He said, pulling Tony against him so he could kiss the top of his head, “Hey,” He then thought and Tony twisted his head up to look at him, “That pink blouse. You still have it?”

Tony huffed, amused, “I wasn’t going to burn it afterward, I actually wear it. With a skirt or trousers anyway, not just on it's own like last time.”

“You looked great in it.” Bucky told him, “Especially when you were shooting.”

“I can wear it before bed if you want.” Tony said, “And I look great in everything.”

“Except when you lose a game,” Bucky countered and Tony reached up for one of the sofa’s pillows to hit him with.

“You have X-ray eyes, you cheat at them!”

“I do not!”

.


End file.
